For a moment the two of us stand there silently in the clearing. Neither moving. Neither speaking. But the spell is eventually broken when Barker winces his eyes shut and withdraws his arm to start cradling his throbbing fist "Gah! Son of a- Fuck! I thought at least your face would be vulnerable. Your new power is horseshit!"
I let the technique recede and feel each segment of my body relax. "Well you weren't completely in the wrong." I respond with a grin. "Going after my eyes or nose is the right move. [Tekkai]'s protection is thinnest there." 'Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any protection in those areas at all from just hardening muscles but..once again One Piece shows that it really doesn't care about things that 'should' be.'
It's only been a couple days since I left Karate island and relocated my training locale to back home. I stayed for what I felt was the appropriate amount of time before letting Tenzin know I needed to move on. In truth I could've left the night I had gotten the [Skillbook] but...it wouldn't have felt right. Abandoning the big lug the moment he finally 'got a student' would've been like kicking a puppy. A big stupid 600 in vitality puppy.
Thanks to [Prodigy's Shadow] my growth through the earlier levels of [Tekkai] could best be described as 'explosive'. When the first night was finally through -with only a few hours of the two of us screaming at each other like idiots- I could already make the technique succeed 2 out of 3 times.
By the time lunch rolled around the following day it was 9 out of 10. At that point it was time to start hitting the rokushiki hard. [Soru]'s into [Geppo]'s. [Rankyaku]'s fired over the cliffside, and multi-hour sessions of cycling between [Kami-e] and[Tekkai] while giving Tenzin free reign to try and wail on me. The [Skill] level ups flowed one after another and as each came and went the little improvements became more pronounced.
[Kami-e] made my body thinner. [Tekkai] would start making me denser. The sharpness or bluntness level of my [Rankyaku]'s fell under my control and my [Soru] finally stopped being an accelerated run and evolved to where I could seemingly vanish from one spot and reappear in another.
As it stands, after days upon days of grinding, [Geppo] is close to being maxed out. Two of the others aren't terribly far behind. [Kami-e] once again has fallen into last place but I'm sure the future will provide ample opportunity to correct that. In the meantime though…
"Alright Barker! You ready for more?"
The youth finishes wringing out his hand and fixes me with a determined nod.
"That's the spirit! We're going to race to the other side of the island and then back. If you can finish before I lap you three times then you win. Ready...set...'[Soru]!'"
"...no no that wasn't right." I mutter to myself and slap my own head. " Come on, you got this. Come on!" The 'Iron Body' locks into place again and the internal struggle that follows makes me wonder if mind truly does reign over matter.
Barker takes a breather in his push-ups and peers at me curiously. "What are you trying to do now?"
A bead of sweat slithers down my forehead as I try to force the arm up. I mentally grit my teeth harder but it's no use. As long as [Tekkai] is active every muscle, every nerve, every bit of 'me' is fixed in position. I can't even get a little wag out of my pinky. I let the [Skill] fall away and breathe out in annoyance. "Something I've been told is impossible but know that it isn't." And I mean that quite literally. When I broached the topic of using [Tekkai] while actively moving Tenzin fell into a fit of 'Impossible! Impossible! Impossible I say! To move with my families impervious 'Iron Body' active is simply...Impossible! '
Thing is though, he can shout that word as many times as he wants but Jabra of CP9 found a way to make it work and I'll be damned if I don't at least put a little effort into trying to do the same.
'Try again Jack. Knowing it's possible in the first place is half the battle won right there.' I feel my body physically tighten as [Tekkai] activates once more but I tune it out. I want to focus entirely on the mental side. 'You got this. You have [Seimei Kikan]. You are, what did the [Game] call it? The lord of the domain that is your body.' I try to jam the limb forward but there's not even a twitch. 'I don't need anything fancy. Just a punch. Just throw a punch.' The muscles shudder. 'One hit. One shot. One teensy weensy little jab.'
Veins strain against the surface of my skin. 'I know it can be done. I'm in control. So you listen to me and throw a GODDAMN-'
I feel my [Tekkai] shatter as the fist flies forward. The tightness across my body evaporates and I splutter indignantly at the failure. A wave of frustrated vitriol spills from my mouth as I kick the ground in personal acrimony and that's when something...odd..clicks in my mind.
The tightness isn't gone gone. It's just muted. Weak. A [Tekkai] that's been pathetically reduced to a fledgling level.
And then came the pop-up.
You have discovered Martial Art: Tekkai Kenpo! Compatible [Skill] detected! [Skill] [Unarmed Combat] has evolved!
Skill: Unarmed Combat (Tekkai Kenpo) Lv. (13/50)
-A mixture of instinctive fighting knowledge using your bare hands with the Rokushiki technique: [Tekkai].
Note: At current [Skill] level the strength of your [Tekkai] while in motion is reduced to 26% effectiveness.
Note 2: At current [Skill] level your DEX will be reduced by 74% while attempting to move with [Tekkai] sustained.
Fuckin'...Booyah.
A low groan rumbled in my throat as I slowly rolled out of bed for another day. With eyes still half-asleep I slipped into a new pair of clothes and listened as the first birds outside began to stir. There's no caffeine in the house but it's not really a concern. I prefer to just exist as a zombie for a half hour and wake up the natural way.
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